Jon needs just one night, anywhere
between Oklahoma City, OK and Springfield,
MO.

If you can help out Victor or Jon,
please email info @ veganoutreach (dot) org.
You would be helping reach thousands
of new people in parts of the country
not frequently reached with the
vegetarian message.

Thanks so much!

Links of the Week: Honesty &
The Health Argument

One common argument for continuing
to eat meat is this: animals must
be treated well on farms, or else
they wouldn't "produce."
This contention is very powerful,
because it seems to make
sense, and meat-eaters very much
want to believe it.

Many vegetarians and vegans are
also susceptible to wishful thinking,
especially when it comes to the
contention that eating meat is inherently
and always unhealthy. Just like
the myth that only happy animals
produce, the argument that meat
is unhealthy seems to make sense
given that most meat eaters in the
U.S. are overweight, and most die
from diseases related to diet.

There is a big difference, of course,
between pointing out that the standard
American diet (SAD) is generally
unhealthy, and proving that meat
is a "deadly poison,"
with veganism being the only way
to good health.

But just as honest research shows
the "happy animals" claim
to be a lie, looking at actual
facts about vegans
undermines the fantastic health
claims of some advocates. In a 1999
meta-analysis, researchers compared
morality rates of those following
different diets. Although the number
of vegans was too small to achieve
statistical significance, the data
showed vegans to have the same mortality
rates as meat-eaters, while fish-eaters
and lacto-ovo vegetarians had lower
rates than meat-eaters and vegans.

In the introduction
to VeganHealth.org,
Jack Norris, RD, explains some of
what accounts for the difference
between the actual data and the
spin some vegans present:

Popular vegan literature has
often extrapolated rates of heart
disease and some cancers in cultures
that eat little meat or among
people who eat a lot of fruits
and vegetables, as indications
of the health status of vegans.
This cannot substitute for studying
true vegans.

Risk factors such as cholesterol
levels have been used to make
projections about the health of
vegans, but these do not necessarily
tell the whole story. For example,
while vegans' cholesterol levels
are on average lower than meat-eaters,
vegans who neglect vitamin B12
and omega- 3 fatty acids are possibly
counteracting their low cholesterol
levels.

Many groups promoting veganism
do not want to bring attention
to any nutritional concerns. While
this might initially attract more
people, getting people to stay
vegan is the harder and more important
task and addressing concerns is
a more sustainable way to promote
the diet.

By no means does this mean that
well-planned vegan diets are unhealthy.
As pointed out by the American
Dietetic Association,
"It is the position of the
American Dietetic Association and
Dietitians of Canada that appropriately
planned vegetarian diets are healthful,
nutritionally adequate and provide
health benefits in the prevention
and treatment of certain diseases.
... Well-planned vegan and other
types of vegetarian diets are appropriate
for all stages of the life cycle,
including during pregnancy, lactation,
infancy, childhood and adolescence."
The ability of an ethical diet to
be optimally healthy and beneficial
-- including during pregnancy
and childhood -- is
truly one of the great benefits
we animal advocates have in making
the case for choosing compassion.
But to be able to use this to our
advantage, we must give
up our fantasies and put aside wishful
thinking. The case for ethical eating
is honest, straightforward, and
compelling, and in no
need of exaggerations
or distortions.